Trading captain Teppo Numminen probably won't be the last salary dump by the Coyotes for the 2003-04 season.

Trading captain Teppo Numminen probably won't be the last salary dump by the
Phoenix Coyotes for the 2003-04 season.

Sending Numminen and his $4.5 million, one-year contract to Dallas in return for
Columbus center Mike Sillinger slashes $3.2 million from Phoenix's payroll to
bring it to about $36 million for this season. The Coyotes also received a
conditional draft pick in the three-team trade that sent defenseman Darryl Sydor
to Columbus and a Blue Jackets No. 2 pick to the Stars.

Sillinger, who will have $500,000 of his $1.8 million salary picked up by
Columbus this season, is a decent role player but not equal value with a top-two
defenseman such as Numminen. So after 15 years with the Coyotes and Winnipeg
Jets franchise, Numminen's contract and free agency after next season made him
Coyote ugly.